Public Works Committee Meeting – July 2, 2026
Public Works Committee Meeting – July 2, 2026
The Public Works Committee of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, met on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the Council Chambers. The committee considered four discussion items, including a suicide prevention sign request, a consulting proposal for the Newton Gravel Pit remediation, a utility easement, and a cemetery fee change request. All votes were unanimous (4-0) among the four present members (Schlei, Sitkiewitz, Brey, Benzinger); Alderperson Anderson was excused.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (May 6, 2026 Public Infrastructure Committee Meeting): Approved unanimously.
Discussion Items
- 26-0578 – 888 Suicide Prevention Signs (John's Light Foundation) Request: The committee voted to place the request on file, as private signs are not permitted on City property. Motion carried 4-0.
- 26-0604 – AECOM Proposal for 2026 Phase 2 – Newton Gravel Pit Project: Staff presented that the Phase 2 work (primarily soil vapor extraction system remediation) was delayed pending DNR negotiations. The DNR has now agreed to a scaled‑back approach, reducing both construction and engineering costs to about one‑third of the original estimate. The committee approved the proposal and referred it to the Common Council. Motion carried 4-0.
- 26-0580 – Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Easement for Gas Facilities on Magnolia Avenue: A standard construction easement reviewed by the City Attorney’s office. Approved and referred to Council. Motion carried 4-0.
- 26-0582 – Cemetery Foundation Fee Change Request: The committee placed the request on file, with the understanding that fee changes will be considered during the upcoming budget process alongside other fee requests. Motion carried 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- The committee unanimously approved the consent agenda (minutes).
- All three action items (AECOM proposal, WPS easement, cemetery fee change) were moved forward: two to the Common Council for final approval, one held for budget consideration.
- The suicide prevention sign request was rejected due to the City’s policy against private signs on public property.
- The meeting adjourned at 5:35 PM.
Meeting Transcript
It is 5 30. I will call the public works committee to order. First order of businesses roll call. We have everyone present with the exception of Alter Anderson, who is not available and is excused. Next would be public comment if there's anyone on the public here, and I don't see anyone from the public, but folks will involve it. Okay. We will end public comment. We are not really contagious. And uh anything to be removed from the consent agenda. If not, I'll look for a motion. Motion to approve. Second. Motion second. Okay, there is no discussion of sound like so uh all in favor. If passing unanimously, we move on to tonight's discussion and action on this first item 2678. Uh there will be no action on uh this item tonight, and then goes on file. I mean I guess we can, yeah. So move. Second. Error. All right. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Next up is uh 260604 ADC will remove the panel. Phase two Babel Fifth project. Yeah, so you might recall a couple months ago we brought the phase one. This is basically for the costs for consulting and engineering related to the gravel pit. And the reason that we decided to do it in f in two phases was because A, we needed to get some of the work done already, which we've accomplished. But for the second part, and mostly it's related to the SVE system, which is soil vapor extraction as part of the remediate. Sorry. Can you hear me better? There you go. Sorry. So the SVE, their soil vapor extraction is part of the remediation or the cleaning up of the site. And we had uh AECOM had come up with a proposal for kind of scaling that back, and we were working through negotiations with the DNR and pending the outcomes of their negotiations, had a direct influence on the cost. So that's why we kind of held off. So the good news is uh we got the DNR to agree, and we're gonna save it what we're gonna end up paying for construction is about a third of what we were originally gonna um pay, and that also is reflected in engineering costs. So these are coming in lower than what we had originally anticipated in budget, it's but that's why we did it in two phases. We were hoping for this, and and it did come out in our favor. Um so right now I would recommend that we approve these costs and get full get so then they can get going with the design for the remediation, and the plan is to have this installed by the fall. Okay, so you're saying basically by taking action on this, we're gonna save about two-thirds of our costs. Yep. Correct? Yep. In engineering and construction. All right. Any discussion from the committee? Okay. Well, I guess I've motion.
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